


Exploration

by BelleofHell



Series: RF4S Release Week [2]
Category: Rune Factory (Video Games), Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon, Rune Factory 4
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Marriage Proposal, Stargazing, other people are mentioned but not worth tagging
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-21
Updated: 2020-02-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:42:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22827355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BelleofHell/pseuds/BelleofHell
Summary: Day 2 of RF4S Release Week: ExplorationCecilia is excited to explore Selphia. Nicholas has some other plans in mind.
Relationships: Cecilia/Nicholas (Rune Factory)
Series: RF4S Release Week [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1639888
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	Exploration

It was a perfect day.

Really, any day with Nicholas was perfect. Cecilia had told him so many times and he took it without even a hint of a blush. Cecilia was jealous of Nicholas’ apparent inability to be flustered. But then again, this was the boy who regularly held her hand kept her close even when they were just friends. They’d shared a thousand declarations of love by the time they were ten. It made sense that Nicholas would be comfortable with affection.

That didn’t stop Cecilia from becoming a blushing, stammering mess whenever Nicholas did anything sweet, though.

What made this day so particularly perfect was that Cecilia and Nicholas had taken a trip to Selphia. Barrett had suggested it as a possible fun vacation spot and Cecilia and Nicholas’ natural affinity for exploring had been rearing its head for a while. They scheduled a few days off at the first opportunity and left.

They’d arrived in Selphia around mid-morning. They went straight to the hotel and booked one room. (Even though they weren’t married, or even engaged. Cecilia would sooner cuddle up to an orc than admit to her father that she and Nicholas were sharing a room.) Then they spent the rest of the morning wandering through shops.

Lunch was a memorable affair. The owner, Porcoline, welcomed them with open arms. Apparently Herman had written his cousin Porcoline, letting him know his maid was coming for a visit. He seated them at a table and stood there talking for what felt like forever, but Cecilia didn’t mind too much. It kind of reminded her of Max. Porcoline even called over the woman who had been playing piano and introduced them. She was an elf too, to Cecilia’s delight. They chatted for a while before the girl, Margaret, politely excused herself and ushered Porcoline back into the kitchen.

In the afternoon they took the castle tour. Nicholas had been more excited about meeting a real dragon than anything else. The butlers who showed them around were eccentric, but kind. Cecilia wondered how much their duties differed from hers. She didn’t have to take care of a dragon at the de Sainte-Coquille manor, at least.

Next they spent a couple hours at the lake. It was summer, so they packed their swimsuits. Nicholas insisted that the ocean was better, but he still had a good time.

After swimming, they used the bathhouse. It was heavenly. Cecilia would definitely recommend that Julia visit someday.

Dinner came next, this time with minimal interruptions. Cecilia and Nicholas chatted about their plans for the next day. There was a vast wilderness surrounding Selphia that the two of them were eager to explore. There were even some caves for them to wander around in, for old time’s sake.

Cecilia thanked the waiter as he took their dishes away and then sighed, full and content from her meal. Porcoline’s cooking truly rivaled any she had had before. “So,” she spoke up. “We still have some sunlight left, so we don’t have to go back to the hotel right away. Was there anything else you wanted to do tonight?”

Nicholas grinned, in that lopsided way that made Cecilia’s heart flutter. He really hadn’t changed much since they were kids. “Yeah, remember that observatory place Barrett told us about? I think he said it was right by the restaurant. We should check it out.”

“Sounds like fun! He said you could basically see all across Norad from up there.”

“Let’s get going then!” Nicholas hopped up and pulled Cecilia to her feet. Cecilia laughed and followed along, their hands still clasped together as they left the restaurant and climbed up the rickety steps of the observatory.

The view at the top took Cecilia’s breath away. “Oh, wow,” she whispered.

Nicholas squeezed her hand and stepped closer to the railing, still pulling Cecilia along with him. “It’s incredible,” he breathed out.

It really was. The sun was starting to set, casting the kingdom in a golden hue. Miles and miles of rolling green hills were laid out before them, and in the distance the ocean could be seen making gentle waves against the shore.

Nicholas tugged on Cecilia’s hand, bringing her attention back to him. “Ceci, look, there’s the schoolhouse!”

Cecilia followed his line of sight and sure enough, she could faintly see the outline of Alvarna’s school. She grinned back at Nicholas. There was something so thrilling about seeing the town where you live from such a distance. Her eyes roamed away from Alvarna, following a path she knew all too well. “There,” she stated, pointing. “That must be Kardia, don’t you think?”

Nicholas was still smiling, but it was softer now. “Yeah, it must be.” He pulled Cecilia closer to him, wrapping his arm around her and clasping his hand in hers again.

They stood there for a while longer. They were mostly silent, enjoying the view, only speaking up to point out strange looking islands or landmarks they recognized. The sun sank down lower, and stars began to twinkle in the sky.

“Hey, Ceci,” Nicholas spoke up. He pulled away from her, but held both her hands in his. He looked oddly somber. Cecilia thought he was going to say more, but he seemed to trail off, lost in thought.

“Yes, Nicholas?” Cecilia prompted.

Nicholas took a deep breath. His body was tense. He was anxious, which was incredibly out of character. “Ceci,” he repeated. “You mean everything to me. You always have. You’ve been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember. Even the years we were apart, I thought about you everyday. And now that I get to be with you like this, I consider myself the luckiest guy in the whole world. You know how much I love you, right?”

“Of course," Cecilia replied. The pieces were coming together and her heart felt lighter than it ever had before. “I love you too.”

Nicholas looked less nervous now. “If you love me as much as I love you, then this question doesn’t really need to be asked, but,” Nicholas paused as he reached into a pocket and knelt down on his right knee. He held up a stunning silver ring with a shiny emerald encased in it. “Ceci, will you marry me?”

Cecilia felt her eyes fill with tears and blinked quickly to try to keep them from falling. “Oh, Nicholas, _yes_ ,” she gasped out. “Of course. _Of course_ I’ll marry you!”

Nicholas whooped and stood up, pulling Cecilia into a bone-crushing hug. “We’re gonna be so happy, Ceci! We’ll put all our married friends to shame.”

Cecilia laughed. “We’re already happy. _So_ happy.” She took a deep breath to keep the tears at bay again. Then she tried to wiggle out of Nicholas’ tight grasp. “Now give me the ring before you get too distracted and drop it.”

Nicholas pulled away, smile never faltering. He looked on the verge of tears too, to Cecilia’s delight. He shakily grabbed Cecilia’s left hand and slid the ring on her finger. It looked like it was always meant to sit there. He stared at it for a moment, like the image took his breath away. “I love you,” he said.

“So you’ve mentioned,” Cecilia teased. “I happen to love you too.”

Nicholas looked her in the eyes then. He lifted his left hand to cup Cecilia’s cheek. Then he leaned in and kissed her softly.

It was the first kiss of the rest of their lives.

**Author's Note:**

> This really should be a much longer fic. Maybe someday I'll go through and expand on their entire vacation.
> 
> This is also the sappiest thing I've ever written in my life. It's almost gag inducing. But I love it.
> 
> Feel free to leave a kudos/comment if you enjoyed, and check out the other entries for RF4S Release Week on rfweeks' tumblr!


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